At the Stillwater church of Christ we strive to follow God’s Word, the Bible, and its teachings (Hebrews 4:12). We believe at the core of its teachings is that “God is love” (1 John 4:8 & 16). Jesus taught that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). God’s love for us is demonstrated in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us (John 3:16). Our love for God is shown by our lives reflecting these two great commandments. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
We are an autonomous body of Christians under the spiritual oversight of elders (Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Following the New Testament example it is our practice to meet on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) to partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) and to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) through a cappella singing (Ephesians 5:19), prayer (Acts 2:42), Bible study (Acts 2:42), and the grace of giving (1 Corinthians 16:2).
We believe these truths to be matters of first importance:There is one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three spiritual beings united as one in divine love throughout eternity. (Romans 8:1-17; Ephesians 1:3-14)
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to the earth as a part of God’s plan for our salvation, lived a sinless life, suffered death on the cross, was raised from the dead to again be with God in power and glory, and established his church with the power of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 1:18-23; 1 Peter 2:22)
Salvation is a free gift of God through his grace given to believers who place their faith in Jesus Christ, confess Jesus is Lord, repent of their sins, and they are baptized into his name for the remission of their sins, at which time God adds them to his body, the church, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 & 47; 9:31; 15:11; Romans 10:9; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:24; Revelation 22:17)
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by men with inspiration from the Holy Spirit, and is the final authority in life and doctrine, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Jesus will return in his heavenly glory, at a time known only by the Father, to judge the living and the dead, and the Lord will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. The unrighteous will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 24:36; 25:31-46; Acts 10:42)